Shorr thing: $14M man locks up first live WSOP title — on home turf

"I'm super motivated to play now," Shorr told us at Horseshoe after his win. "You know, having to provide for two kids — this is what I do to put food on the table. Ever since I had kids, I've been really zoned in on my routine."

Shorr picked up two trophies at the PGT Last Chance series in January.

Getting around Vegas

Shorr is traveling a lot less with two kids. His routine is dialed in and the volume of events in Las Vegas means he doesn't have to hit the road to make a living like other pros. The work-life balance peaks during the WSOP, when he is able to adapt his schedule around his family. 

"It's nice to live here and just be able to commute down. I'll be increasingly trying to skip some spots here and there just to get more family time." 

But the WSOP still gets him going, Shorr says, and you will see him a lot, "especially at the big no-limit events."

Another big draw for a Vegas poker player is the variety. Shorr can play in the big events at the WSOP or the PokerGO Studio while also jumping into WSOP Circuit events multiple times per year. Wynn Poker schedules several series with millions in guarantees and the NAPT has become a regular annual fixture at Resorts World. A player like Shorr, or anyone else for that matter, can also jump into a Venetian Deepstack on any given day. 

"It's nice to play with lots of different player types because a lot of times when I'm playing in the [PokerGO Studio] or playing online, I'm playing a very specific style of GTO-type poker. So I really like playing these types of events because you have to think outside the box and really try to figure out these people that you've never seen before." 

Shorr finished second in the BetMGM Poker Championship at Aria last summer for $430K.

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Familiar faces at final table

The high volume of Vegas tournaments also means that Shorr has played with just about everybody on the local scene. Tuesday's final table was no exception, with a few regular grinders making Day 3. 

"I had three guys that I played quite a bit with online in (Michael) Berk and (Jordyn) Miller and (Evan) Sandberg. Those guys are very tough players."

All three are regulars in tournaments online and around town at places like Wynn, Venetian, and the PokerGO Studio. Berk, an Indiana native, got his start in the Midwest where he was cashing in Heartland Poker Tour events in 2018. Miller, a Californian, started logging Hendon Mob entries in LA poker rooms in 2017. Sandberg picked up a six-figure score in the LA Poker Classic in 2018, but he was cashing WSOP Daily Deepstacks at the Rio as far back as 2014. 

Outside of Terry Fleisher — another local legend whose first cash was in the $200 Seniors Events at the 2001 Tournament of Champions (a different one) — Shorr knew very little about the rest of the final table. Players like fourth-place finisher Emily Xie, a WSOPC ring winner and MIT grad, are relatively unknown to local pros and they present the biggest challenge.  

"It's one of the cool things about live poker — you just have to figure stuff out very quickly. You may only see like one showdown here or there and that will give you a glimpse into how a certain player is thinking. That's why I always stress to players that you really need to pay attention, particularly if you don't know people."

WSOPC Horseshoe Main Event final table results

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^{Image courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO.}